


I'll Cover You

by Harley_Quinn24



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alison is a huge drama queen, Alternate Universe - High School, Beth knows nothing about theatre, F/F, RENT the musical, auditions, let's take this musical seriously shall we, tense theatre stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-11 07:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5617738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harley_Quinn24/pseuds/Harley_Quinn24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU. Theatre nerd Alison gets caught by popular jock Beth Childs while practising Take Me Or Leave Me for Alison’s RENT audition. Since none of Alison’s friends will rehearse the number with her, Beth decides to humour the cute drama girl and offers to help out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Song Glory

**Author's Note:**

> Fluff. So much fluff. I haven't posted anything for this pairing in a while and I wrote this many moons ago.
> 
> I recently started re-watching OB again (while I eagerly await S4) and find myself hooked all over again on Soccercop.
> 
> Dammit. I should have learned from last time!
> 
> This should only be 2 chapters, maybe 3. Theatre madness in high school format. Enjoy!

Final auditions for the summer musical RENT were tomorrow and Alison Hendrix was simply not prepared.

Normally, theatre professional Alison would never be phased by a second audition, but it just so happened that this audition was a duet she’d never practised singing with another person.

Her first audition with the song ‘Over the Moon’ from RENT had gone beautifully, but now there was just Alison and her ‘best friend’ Aynsley auditioning for the part of Maureen and Aynsley had a number of people willing to rehearse the song with her.

There were two girls competing for the part of Joanne, the character who sang the song with Maureen, but when Alison had asked for their help both were too busy to practise when Alison was free. Obviously their lack of commitment would never propel them into a career in the theatre, Alison decided, but she wasn't one to be brought down by amateurs.

Ultimately, Alison knew the whole audition was going to be a complete nightmare but she was intent on at least getting her part right.

_“Every single day when I walk down the street, I hear people say baby’s so sweet..."_

Alison wandered to the front of the stage and stared out across the empty theatre, pleased that the rest of the drama club weren’t around to annoy her while she had to practise alone. Cal, the guy who would be playing the part of Roger, had actually offered to help Alison with the song but while the offer was sweet Alison doubted that rehearsing with a guy would help.

_“Ever since puberty everybody stares at me, boys girls, I can’t help it baby.”_

She knew every song in RENT without question but this song in particular relied heavily on chemistry between Joanne and Maureen which was what worried her so much. If she and the girl she auditioned with didn’t work well together than Alison doubted she would get the role. Not to mention half the drama club were already surprised that innocent Alison Hendrix had chosen to audition for Maureen.

_“Every single day I walk down the street-“_

Alison huffed and shook her head. She just didn’t feel like Maureen at the moment and it was hard to play the role without somebody to react from.

“This is useless.” The theatre queen pouted slightly and sat down on the edge of the stage, wondering if perhaps she was taking the audition a little too seriously. Perhaps tomorrow would go well and Alison was just worrying over nothing.

_Or perhaps it will go terribly and Aynsley will get the part._

Alison raised a hand to the side of her face and glanced down at her, fearing the worst for her performance despite her best intentions. Maybe she ought to call Cal and see if he was still free to help her practise,

“Hey, is anybody in- oh.”

Alison’s head jerked up upon hearing the voice and immediately frowned at the girl standing at the back of the theatre.

If there was something more infuriating than the thought of Aynsley getting the part of Maureen it was the arrival of Beth Childs.

“Did you get lost on your way to the track or something?” Alison asked stiffly, standing up from the stage as Beth made her way down the aisle with her hands in the pockets of her shorts.

Beth was dressed in a familiar Jersey, the one she wore whilst playing soccer, and her signature running shorts. The items did not match but Alison was feeling too annoyed to pay much attention. What was _Beth Childs_ doing in _her_ theatre?

Beth raised an eyebrow at Alison and came to a stop in front of the stage, leaning against one of the chairs with a calm expression on her face. Beth always looked so confident and Alison absolutely hated it.

“No, I know where the track is.” Beth replied casually, “But Art said he got tied up with revision and I was on my way to meet him when I saw the lights on in here.”

It seemed a reasonable response and Art Bell, Beth’s fellow jock friend, did spent a lot of time revising as he had his heart set on becoming a cop after high school. But still, jocks never came to the drama department, except when Chad was being forced to come and watch Aynsley in a production.

“Well, I have an audition tomorrow and I have permission to rehearse in here for as long as I like, so you can go back to finding your friend.”

The look on Alison’s face was intriguing to Beth, especially as Beth never socialised much with Alison to warrant any feelings of dislike.

Sure, it was standard high school rules that the jocks and drama nerds led separate lives but Beth had never gone out of her way to be rude to Alison, in fact Beth hated the jock stereotype with passion and wanted nothing more than to be seen more for being herself.

“Audition huh? What’s the play?” The jock asked, unable to stop herself from trying to further the encounter when Alison looked so uncomfortable.

“Musical, actually. And it’s RENT.”

RENT. Beth grinned faintly, Chad had been telling the group over lunch how Aynsley was auditioning for a hot lesbian part in the new musical and Beth was suddenly wishing she paid more attention to him when he talked.

“Aynsley Norris is auditioning, right? Her boyfriend mentioned it once or twice.”

Alison nodded gently, although she did wonder why Beth was even pretending to care. “Aynsley and I are actually auditioning for the same role. Maureen Johnson."

While Beth cared nothing for theatre, the idea that cute Alison Hendrix would be playing ‘ _the hot lesbian part’,_ was rather appealing. Alison Hendrix always seemed like the straight, good girl who even in theatre wouldn’t do much out of her comfort zone yet Beth was starting to think otherwise.

“Everyone says she’s really good.” Beth pointed out, before waggling her eyebrows at Alison. “You confident that you’re better?”

Alison tutted and took a few steps back away from the edge of the stage, once again reminded of her failed attempts at rehearsal.

“I would be if I had someone to rehearse the song with. I asked my friends and none of them like musicals so they wouldn’t do it. Now I’m worried that I won’t be any good because I haven’t practised the duet enough with another person.”

Alison felt silly telling all of this to a jock, but she was frustrated and thought it was only right she tell people how horrible her friends were for not helping. It wasn’t as though Felix didn’t sing La Vie Boheme enough times when the group were together, even though he always swore that Cats had ruined his love of musicals forever.

Another reason to hate Beth Childs; she was incredibly cute and had a reputation for being incredibly nice, too.

“Do you have a script or something?”

Alison frowned ever so slightly, stepping back as Beth climbed up onto the stage and moved to stand in front of Alison with her hands still resting in her pockets.

“Excuse me?” The actress blinked a few times, not sure what Beth was getting at.

“A script, like with the song written down in it?”

Alison scoffed and her frown only deepened. “I know what a script is.” She huffed.

Beth smirked at her and shrugged her shoulders, “Then could you get it for me?”

Alison Hendrix, model student and theatre professional, could not believe that she was standing on her own stage having a conversation with Beth Childs. Beth Childs, captain of the soccer team and aspiring police officer. About theatre no less! Alison was willing to bet that Beth hadn't seen a musical in her life.

Alison had no real reason to dislike Beth, but she did. Because each time she saw the jock she had all of these mixed up feelings swimming around inside her. Alison was attracted to Beth Childs and just standing on a stage with her was making her palms sweaty. Which was why, when Alison found her feet moving and her hands clasping around the script she’d set down in her bag, she had no power to stop herself.

Once she’d received the script, Beth scanned through the lyrics to the sections that were sung by the other character, Joanne, apparently. 

“Okay, I think I got this. Now I don’t know the tune or anything so you’ll have to bare with me.”

Alison blinked a few times and only found her voice when she realised she must look strange just staring at the other girl.

“ _You’re_ going to help me practise? _You_?” She asked sceptically.

“Well, nobody else offered and you said you need somebody to work with.” Beth replied casually, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It didn’t make any sense for Beth to be offering to help, but Alison appreciated the gesture despite herself. And practising with a girl would be a lot more beneficial than practising with Cal, as lovely as he was.

Suddenly regaining her composure, as she would have to take the lead here in order to ensure Beth didn’t completely ruin the song, Alison straightened her spine and nodded.

“Alright then. But before we start to practise, I’ll need to give you some background information to the musical. Practising with no character profile is just as useless as not practising at all.”

Beth rolled her eyes as high as she could in her head as Alison began moving around the stage.

When she’d offered to help sing in a few lines for the drama princess, Beth hadn’t expected to have to suffer through Broadway training too.


	2. Take Me Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me why this was so long because I have absolutely no idea, words just kind of appeared and I had to stick with 'em.
> 
> There will probably be a third chapter, just to tie things together. Hope you guys are enjoying these two nerds as much as I am!
> 
> ((Obviously I don't own RENT or the song, I just figured it came in useful because we all know Maureen is Alison's spirt animal.))

Final auditions for the summer musical RENT were tomorrow and Elizabeth Childs was far too prepared.

She liked to talk about running and as captain of the team she had to talk a lot about soccer, but when Alison talked about theatre it was truly something else.

Alison talked about theatre as though it rivalled the importance of oxygen. She talked details, she marked her script almost obsessively and she had the kind of confidence that would put super jock Paul Dierden to shame.

It was inspiring and Beth lived a life in which she was rarely inspired.

With an alcoholic mother and a father who seemed too exhausted to care any longer, hearing Alison talk about theatre reminded Beth that positivity was still achievable.

“Okay, let me see if I’m getting all of this-“

Beth came to pace in front of Alison, arms now crossed over her chest as she thought over all the information she’d been given.

“I’m a workaholic lawyer who is particular and follows the rules, you’re my performer girlfriend who is wild and drives me crazy. And in this song we’re breaking up but we also still kind of love each other, so there is a lot of sexual tension and stuff?”

Despite her overall understanding being less detailed than Alison herself would have given, Beth seemed to have grasped the scenario rather well and Alison was quite impressed.

“Joanne and Maureen have to have chemistry, there has to be a trust there between the actresses. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.”

Beth smirked at that, wondering if Alison was looking forward to cosying up to another actress for the good of theatre or for something else.

Beth Childs would never label Alison Hendrix as being interested in girls but at the same time she couldn’t say Alison hadn’t checked her out whenever she thought Beth wasn’t looking.

“So, you get to flirt with me and stuff? Cool.”

Beth nodded and glanced back down at the script, going over the words a few more times in her head. She wasn’t much of a singer but she liked to sing, usually not in front of fellow students, but an exception could be made for Alison.

Alison seemed to brush off Beth’s comment and was going through what Beth assumed was a usual warm up for the thespian. It looked a little odd to a none drama nerd but Beth wasn’t going to poke fun.

“Okay, okay. First position and we’ll try this.” Alison announced after a short while, motioning for Beth to move back to the marking Alison had given her at some stage during the lecture.

Once Beth was in position, Alison took a few moments to compose herself before she launched into her performance.

_“Every single day I walk down the street, I hear people say baby’s so sweet. Ever since puberty everybody stares at me, boys girls, I can’t help it baby-“_

Alison had this sudden confidence, like she thought she was the most important person in the world and Beth figured this was why the girl had been cast in so many productions. Alison was smirking at her, smug yet subtly flirty, as though she was trying to get a rise out of Beth. As though Maureen was trying to get a rise out of Joanne.

_“So be kind and don’t lose your mind, just remember that I’m your baby”_

Alison was gradually getting closer to where Beth stood yet she still managed to look as though she was at the centre of the whole stage. Beth wondered if she ought to move toward Alison, but remembering what Alison said about her character gave Beth the indication that Joanne would want Maureen to come to her.

_“Take me for what I am, who I want meant to be and if you give a damn, take me baby or leave me-“_

Beth was impressed by Alison’s confidence thus far, it was a shock to see this sexy and playful side to Alison and Beth had to keep reminding herself that this was the character. Alison was just a good actress.

Alison was close now and Beth knew she was going to have to try and match some of the drama queen’s energy otherwise all of Alison’s performance would be for nothing. Beth was best at pretending to be confident so in theory she figured she should be good at this.

_“A tiger in a cage can never see the sun and this diva needs her stage, baby let’s have fun! You are the one I choose, folks would kill to fill your shoes. You love the limelight too now baby-“_

Her voice and her facial expressions were fantastic, but Alison was still standing a little too far away from Beth to be considered natural. Maureen was supposed to be the forward character and Alison must have sensed Beth’s doubt as she stopped singing.

“Is something wrong?”

How easily Alison could shift from Maureen back to Alison was frightening. Beth was once again facing the small drama nerd who checked her out yet apparently had no confidence to get close to her.

“You haven’t touched me yet.” Beth pointed out, holding the script down at her side.

Alison blinked at the soccer captain in response, for a few moments entirely unsure of what Beth was getting at. Was Beth asking her to make a move?

“I mean… Joanne is Maureen’s girlfriend, right? So I don’t know, wouldn’t Maureen at least touch her or something?”

Alison’s face slowly slid into a look of understanding and Beth was relieved to hear she’d made an accurate suggestion. Perhaps she wasn’t completely lost when it came to the concept of performing.

“Oh well yes, um… I suppose she would.” Alison raised a hand to rest against the side of her face, as though considering something before she nodded a little to herself.

“You’re right. I’ll try it again.”

Alison cleared her throat and took another few moments to return to character, although when the mask was put on Beth found it easier to see through the character this time.

 _“A tiger in a cage can never see the sun and this diva needs her stage, baby let’s have fun. You are the one I choose, folks would-“_ Alison stopped singing when Beth began to chuckle and pouted at the girl standing in front of her. If Beth had only offered to help so that she could make fun then it was the kind of help that Alison could live without.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Alison demanded, a hint of diva mode creeping into her tone.

“You still haven’t gotten any closer to me.”

Alison huffed yet again, “Yes I did.” She muttered, although she knew in the back of her mind that even in her own earlier direction she hadn’t wanted Joanne and Maureen apart at that moment in the song.

Beth tilted her head to the side and grinned, “You scared or something Hendrix?” She teased.

Alison immediately shook her head but her blushing told another story. Despite her teasing, Beth thought it was cute that Alison was nervous to take the plunge. She didn’t know Alison very well and it was very strange to be pretending to be her girlfriend, but Beth had made a commitment to help the girl rehearse.

“I’m just... planning my movements and actions, that’s all. It’s important I know what Maureen would do if she got close to Joanne.”

Beth chuckled at the explanation and took it as Alison trying to defend her nervousness. She doubted Alison wouldn’t have the entire thing mapped out already, the drama queen didn’t seem the type to leave preparation for an audition to chance.

“Well, not that your planning isn’t great, but I don’t have all night to wait for you to decide so let’s try things my way. In my team on the soccer field, I like to tackle things head on.”

Beth strode over until she was in front of Alison, so close that she could feel the heat from the actress’ body and feel Alison’s light breaths on her face.

“This isn’t soccer.” Alison mumbled, averting her eyes away from Beth’s.

Beth reached out and gently took hold of each of Alison’s hands, keeping her grasp light so that it would have to be Alison that dictated how things moved.

“Look at me.” When Alison raised her gaze to meet Beth’s, the soccer captain smiled easily and held her positon in front of the other girl.

“Sing the song to me. If you can sing it this close to my face you have no reason to be nervous about anything else.  Do whatever feels right and we’ll look at the blocking later.”

While she was terrified about being so close to Beth, Alison knew that she did have a point. She was closer to the soccer player than she’d ever expected to be so there was no real way of embarrassing herself further now, she ought to at least try things Beth’s way.

 _“Take me for what I am, who I was meant to be-“_ Alison stared off shaky and her performance was not quite there, but Beth continued to smile and Alison at least felt that the girl wasn’t making fun of her.

_“And if you give a damn take me baby or leave me. Take me baby or leave me.”_

_“A tiger in a cage can never see the sun-“_ Alison’s hands tightened around Beth’s and slowly the drama queen interlocked their fingers. In return, Beth gave one of Alison’s hands a light squeeze and her smile became a little more of a grin.

 _“And this diva needs her stage, baby let’s have fun! You are the one I choose, folks would kill to fill your shoes. You love the limelight too now baby.”_ Alison’s performance was growing that little bit more confident and Beth could feel her pressing forward, not far enough so that they were touching but enough to prove to Beth that she wasn’t scared to push that little bit further.

“Good.” Beth cut in, sensing that Alison was regaining her sense of character. “Try it again and go for it. I’ll follow whatever you decide to do.”

Beth let go of Alison’s hands and stepped back to the opening position Alison had set out for her, trying to enjoy rehearsing with Alison a little less than she currently was. While she hadn’t had many interactions with the diva Beth was finding that she quite liked Alison’s personality, Alison was all confidence and cuteness but with a real driving attitude behind her.

Alison stood still on the spot she started from and took a couple of deep breaths. It was important to wait until she was absolutely ready before she began to perform, acting was an art and Alison took it very seriously.

Perhaps she wouldn’t even use blocking for the audition, since she didn’t know which girl would be auditioning as Joanne. But it was useful to have ideas in place, to know how to move around the stage when sharing it with another person. Alison wanted her performance to be perfect and getting used to performing with jock Beth Childs meant she’d be confident enough to perform with any one of the usual drama students.

_“Every single day I walk down the street, I hear people say baby’s so sweet. Ever since puberty everybody stares at me, boys, girls, I can’t help it baby-“_

Alison started off facing the audience, then slowly her body turned enough so that she was singing directly at Beth. Smirking at her, trying to appear innocent despite knowing well enough that Joanne would see through the act. Beth folded her arms across her chest and looked away, apparently giving Alison some fuel as she began slowly moving toward her as she continued singing.

_“So be kind and don’t lose your mind, just remember that I’m your baby. Take me for what I am, who I was meant to be and if you give a damn, take me baby or leave me.”_

Alison had slowly made her way over to where Beth was and while she began to sing the next verse she reached out to unfold Beth’s arms, instead wrapping them around herself with a little grin on her face. If Beth wasn’t so focused on Alison’s character she would have felt the little tremble in Alison’s hands or the few seconds longer it took to make eye contact, but she was far too surprised by how easily Alison had adapted around her.

 _“A tiger in a cage can never see the sun, and this Diva needs her stage, baby let’s have fun.”_ Beth took her arms away and stepped back, making a point of rolling her eyes at Alison, or rather Joanne rolling her eyes at Maureen. Beth had to remember that she still had a part to play, she couldn’t give in so easily.

 _“You are the one I choose. Folks would kill to fill your shoes, you love the limelight too now baby.”_ Alison headed for the centre again, her attention still on Beth. She winked and motioned with a finger for Beth to come to her, but Beth remembered to hold her ground. “ _So be mine and don’t waste my time cryin' ‘Oh honeybear, are you still my baby? Take me for what I am, who I was meant to be, and if you give a damn take me baby or leave.”_ Beth found herself rolling her eyes again as Alison began towards her. She didn’t pull away when Alison’s hands found her sides, but she did turn her head ever so slightly away.

 _“No way can I be what I’m not, but hey, don’t you want your girl hot? Don’t fight, don’t lose your head. ‘Cause every night who’s in your bed? Who? Who’s in your bed?”_ Alison raised a hand to turn Beth’s face to look at her and her body closed the distance between them, which seemed to catch them both a little off guard. The Diva took Beth’s hands and settled them on her hips, tilting her head ever so slightly as she sang her last line. Their eyes met and Beth wondered if in future she needed to pay far more attention to Alison Hendrix. _“Kiss pookie?”_

Beth leaned in ever so slightly, as though she was giving in to Alison’s suggestion which in turn caused the Diva to take on a somewhat questioning for just seconds before Beth’s intentions were made clear. _“It won’t work,”_ Beth twisted away from Alison and then it was her turn to saunter towards the centre of the stage, leaving Alison to follow her this time. _“I look before I leap, I love margins and discipline. I make lists in my sleep, baby what’s my sin?”_

For her part, Beth was mostly just trying to focus on remembering the lines. Her memory was better than most and she thought she was doing a pretty good job, though she did happen to be standing above Alison’s discarded script and she leaned her head down to catch the next few lines before turning back to Alison. _“Never quit, I follow through. I hate mess but I love you, what to do with my impromptu baby? So be wise ‘cause this girl satisfies. You got a prize, don’t compromise, you’re one lucky baby.”_ The two had gravitated back together once again, Beth circling behind Alison and calmly trailing a hand up Alison’s arm.

_“Take me for what I am-"_

_“A control freak.”_ As Alison got in her line, she moved away from Beth with her hands on her hips.

_“Who I was meant to be-“_

_“A snob yet over attentive.”_

_“And if you give a damn-“_

_“A lovable, droll geek.”_

_“Take me baby-“_

_“An anal retentive!”_ Alison threw her line over her shoulder, but very quickly twisted so that she was looking at Beth as she knew which section was coming next. Beth flashed her a smile, though her eyes darted across to the script and Alison figured she might have to sing in a little for both parts just in case.

As the diva opened her mouth to speak, alerting Beth to their cue, a door at the back of the theatre opened and a young man poked his head in before walking inside with a questioning look on his face.

“Childs?” Art Bell raised an eyebrow and even from the stage Beth could see the puzzled look on his face. He was her best friend and the best possible person to have walked in, he’d tease her for weeks no doubt but it was still better than Angela or Paul.

Alison seemed to drop out of her character almost instantly and she’d folded her arms across her chest. Beth could sense a little bit of annoyance, but the drama nerd quickly moved over to pick up her script and no doubt pretend to be glancing at her lines.

“Hey dipshit. You said you were busy and Alison said she needed some help-“

“Excuse me, I didn’t say-“ Alison was quickly shushed by Beth, to which the thespian rolled her eyes but said no more on the matter.

Art chuckled, sauntering down a couple of the steps before he leaned against the side of one of the chairs built in for the audience. “Well I’m done now, Alison won’t mind if I steal you away, will she?”

Beth shot a glance over at Alison and opened her mouth to speak, but Alison quickly looked up from her script and shrugged her shoulders. “We were done anyway. Thanks for your help Beth.”  She flashed the girl a faint smile, then sauntered off to the back of the stage to look for something in her bag.

Beth stood for a few moments, unsure. She had promised to help Alison but the drama girl seemed embarrassed that the two had been caught rehearsing together, so after a few moments she shrugged jumped down from the stage. “Let me know how it goes. Good luck.” She called back to Alison, before jogging up the steps to meet with Art.

Beth gave him a glare and pushed him toward the door, muttering for him to be quiet as they climbed the last few stairs and headed for the door. “I will. Thanks.” Alison called back, just in time, but after a quick wave from Beth she found herself alone in the theatre once again.

Alison let out a slow breath and shook her head. After taking a moment to compose herself, Alison grabbed her phone and opened the WhatsApp group she had titled _Clone Club._

_Hendrix: You’ll never guess what just happened to me_

She didn’t even need to put her phone down before it buzzed to show a new message.

_Felix: You got into the next tour of Cats? I told you if you ever got famous I wouldn’t come and see it_

_Hendrix: I just auditioned with Beth Childs_

_Sarah: What the fuck?_

_Geek Monkey: Since when was Beth into drama?_

_Hendrix: She isn’t, but she came in when I was rehearsing and offered to help_

_Geek Monkey: Shit_

_Tony: You should ask her to put in a good word for Sarah with Cal… if I have to watch the two of them eye fuck at lunch one more time_

_Sarah: Fuck off_

_Hendrix: Little bit preoccupied with the fact that I was pressed up against her not two minutes ago_

_Geek Monkey: Shit_

_Felix: You’re fucked, Ali, maybe even literally_

_Hendrix: Felix!_

_Hendrix: Though it wouldn’t be a bad idea_


	3. Tango Maureen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys thanks so much for sticking with me through this and for all your comments and kudos, you're literally all the sweetest!
> 
> I'm making my predictions for S4 that Beth is alive and well and when that prediction comes true... who knows
> 
> (you guys might get a bit of a sequel)

Final auditions for the summer musical RENT had been and gone but the day had arrived for the official cast list to be announced.

On Wednesdays Alison had class closest to the cafeteria, so at twelve twenty when Alison had failed to show it was safe to say that it left her group of friends concerned.

“I’m not concerned, if she didn’t get the part she’s probably already half way to a drinking problem so there’s nothing we can do.” Tony took a sip from his drink and leaned back away from the table, as though to highlight the finality to his point even further.

Alison hadn’t touched alcohol in her life, that much the group knew for certain, so Tony’s joke seemed fairly innocent but it was true that if Alison had lost the role then there was going to be some serious pouting. She’d texted Felix constantly the night before to tell him all about how nervous she was and he’d had to call her to tell her to relax, though of course it took quite a long phone conversation before she did so.

“I say we put on our own musical if she didn’t get it.”

All heads whirled to face Cosima, though the science geek certainly wasn’t looking back at them. Her focus was instead directed towards the new French student, Delphine. Cosima and the girl were in a couple of the same classes and Cosima had been smitten from their first encounter, regardless of the fact that Delphine apparently often received a lot of texts from someone named Aldous.

Felix chuckled and wrapped an arm around Cosima’s shoulder, squeezing her into his side. “Love makes you say all kinds of stupid shite.” He decided, to which Sarah held up her drink as a sign of agreement.

As chatter fell towards the lovesick Cosima, it wasn’t long before a tray was being clattered down at the end of the table and Alison Hendrix was sitting herself down beside Helena. Helena normally sat next to Sarah, but today Sarah had expertly angled herself to face Cal’s table in favour of making eyes at him across the room, which also happened to be the perfect angle to glare at Rachel Duncan’s table too.

“Well?” Felix asked when Alison hadn’t immediately spoken, his elbows propped up on the table in order to lean towards her. “Will we be seeing you in any lesbian action later this year?”

She’d been talking nonstop about her audition and about the musical for two weeks and her sudden silence could be taken as either very good or very bad, but Felix couldn’t quite read which. As the group leaned in to listen to Alison, or to at least protest when she no doubt made a show of either answer, a tap to Alison’s shoulder caused the drama nerd to turn.

“Hey. Could I steal you for a sec?”

Alison hadn’t seen much of Beth Childs since Beth had helped her prepare for the audition, not through lack of trying, but merely due to differing schedules and Beth always having one of the jocks at her side. Alison liked to think she’d get along well with Art as he seemed like a fairly sensible young man, but the same could not be said for Paul Dierden or Aynsley’s idiot boyfriend Chad.

Beth stood with her hands resting in the pockets of her jeans, her bag slung over her left shoulder and she stood in the most relaxed stance possible. Alison wondered if Beth rehearsed looking so nonchalant, or if Beth really was just so casual about coming up to a table of people she’d never really met and asking a _drama kid_ if she was free for a second.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced.” Alison cringed, but she hadn’t answered Beth’s question so she should have assumed Felix would take the opportunity to interfere.

Beth’s gaze turned away from Alison’s to look at Felix and without hesitation she stuck out a hand to him. “Beth Childs. Nice to meet you.” The two shook hands and Alison watched, almost gaping at the interaction.

“Felix Dawkins. Best friend. Alison has told us a lot about you-“

“Felix!” It was rare Alison’s voice got so high, but Felix smirked nonetheless and so did Beth as she brought her hand back to her side. As Alison got to her feet, Beth looked around the table to see if she recognised any faces.

It seemed strange that she couldn’t say she’d met any of Alison’s friends, she was sure that she’d have seen them around school at some stage but certainly not to talk to. Beth felt a stab of guilt, the realisation once again reminding her that she spent too much time with a group of people she didn’t like. She’d be stuck with Art for life and Angela was okay but the rest definitely weren’t people Beth could see herself staying in touch with.

“I suppose we can,” Alison muttered, grabbing her bag from the floor. “Quickly though, I need to eat lunch before class starts.” She sent a glare in Felix’s direction, then set off at a quick pace through the dining hall and out into the hallway.

Once the two were away from the crowds, Alison made a point of shouldering her bag and glancing at the clock just above the double doors. There were a few people roaming the hall, either to get to their lockers or simply as something to do, but Beth didn’t seem too interested in whatever else was going on as she leaned her side against a nearby locker and folded her arms across her chest.

“Yes?” Alison didn’t want to be alone with this girl. Or rather, she did, but she had no clue what Beth wanted with her. Beth hadn’t made much of an effort to speak to her or seek Alison out after they spent the night in the auditorium, so the last thing Alison had expected was for Beth to ask to speak to her out of the blue.

Beth smiled, easily, and Alison narrowed her eyes. “You’re seriously not going to tell me?”

Alison was sure her brows couldn’t knit any further, but she tried as she stared at Beth and tried to figure out what cryptic message the girl was getting at. “Tell you what?”

Beth laughed, outright laughed at her, then shrugged her shoulders. “The cast list was posted up for RENT today, Aynsley has been talking about it for ages. And I doubt you’d have left it this long without going to read it.”

The drama girl felt her eyes widen and her jaw slacken every so slightly. So Beth Childs, the girl that had made no effort to communicate with her for weeks, was actively seeking information into Alison’s life. If Alison wasn’t mad that Beth hadn’t spoken to her sooner she might have blushed, but was still mad so instead she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell my friends yet. Felix won’t be happy if he finds out I told _you_ first.”

Beth waggled her eyebrows cockily, “And what’s wrong with telling me first? I helped you to get the part… if you did get it. And I helped you out even if you didn’t get it. It’s win win for me, Ali.”

The nickname rolled off the tongue so easily and Beth gave no indication that using it had surprised her. Everything just seemed so damn easy with Alison, a little infuriating sometimes but ultimately Beth had enjoyed spending time with her. It was as though the drama girl expected nothing from the jock, even with the little jokes she made about Beth being part of the ‘popular’ group in school. Alison made her feel light and unjudged and it was everything Beth was not used to.

Alison sighed dramatically and averted her eyes from Beth’s momentarily, watching as a trio of boys made their way down the hall and noisily bustled into the cafeteria. “Why do you care if I got the part?” Alison asked.

Beth adjusted the strap of her bag and rolled her eyes, “I could just go and check you know…. Now that I know where the drama department is and all.”

It had been meant as a joke but Alison’s eyes lightened and a little grin worked it’s way across her lips. “You do that, Elizabeth. You just might find a little bit of theatrical culture along the way.”

Without waiting for a response, Alison turned on her heel and set off back into the cafeteria to re-join her friends. It wasn’t until she sat back down at the table she let out a deep breath and covered her face with her hands, unable to believe that perhaps she was winning whatever little game Beth Childs was playing.

“First off,” Tony began, bringing Alison out of her thoughts. “We all wanna hear if we're gonna get to see you kiss a girl or not, secondly, what the fuck is going on with you and Beth Childs?”

-

 

**_Unknown phone number [10:04PM]_ **

_I like to think it was all my doing really_

 

Alison Hendrix had just settled into bed with a cup of hot chocolate when her phone beeped and a message lit up the screen. The group had taken her out for milkshakes and burgers after she’d told them that she got the part of Maureen. It had been a night of laughter and celebration, Cal had even ended up joining them after he'd stopped Alison to congratulate her about getting cast. After spending one night watching Sarah and Cal flirt Alison just hoped that Cal wasn't going to be one of those annoyingly adoring boyfriends and talk endlessly about Sarah throughout the whole process of the production.

 

**_[10:06]_ **

_Sorry I don’t know who this is_

 

**_[10:07]_ **

_Chad gave me your number, he got it from Aynsley. Just wanted to say congrats :)_

Alison grinned down at her phone, so much so that it took her a little longer to type out a message.

 

**_[10:10]_ **

_Did you actually go and check the cast list or did someone tell you?_

**_[10:11]_ **

_I ventured into the depths of the drama department, nearly drowned in all the jazz hands_

_You know this is me, right?_

**_[10:13]_ **

_I think I have a pretty good idea, yes_

_Thanks for helping me practise_

**_[10:14]_ **

_No problem, it was fun_

Alison drank her hot chocolate as she tried to figure out what else she could say to keep the conversation going. Part of her couldn’t believe that Beth had gone out of her way to check the list and get Alison’s phone number, yet another part of her told her that it was exactly something Beth would do. Alison felt giddy at the thought, Beth Childs was making an effort and it perhaps she knew the reason why.

 

**_[10:17]_ **

_If you ever need anyone to practise with again you know where the track is_

_Or maybe you don’t_

_If you don’t then I’ll show you some time, it’d be good sporting culture for you_

**_[10:18]_ **

_I know where the track is Elizabeth_

_But yeah, I guess you helping me practise wouldn’t be the worst thing_

**_[10:19]_ **

_Aren’t you sweet_

**_[10:21]_ **

_Do not make fun of me Elizabeth or I won’t allow you to come and see the show_

**_[10:22]_ **

_Who says I’m coming to see it?_

_You might be terrible in it_

**_[10:24]_ **

_Alison?_

**_[10:26]_ **

_I’d like you to come and see it_

**_[10:27]_ **

_Then I’ll be there_

-

Beth Childs didn’t know much about musicals, theatre in general really, but when she caught Alison’s smile as they passed each other in the hallway the next morning Beth realised that RENT was going to the first in a long line of theatre she was going to go and see with a smile etched onto her face.


End file.
